Freedom within the system

When people think of freedom, they think of doing whatever they want. They picture a life without any restrictions. They can spend what they want and never run out of money. They can eat what they want and never gain weight. They can drink whatever they want, do whatever they want and feel however they want.

But life isn’t that way. There will always be consequences to our behavior. Being rich might mean we can buy what we want. But it doesn’t mean we can eat what we want. It doesn’t mean we can drink whatever we want. We can’t just do whatever we feel like doing at any moment.

Because there will always be consequences to our actions, we should shift how we view freedom. By seeing the full system, we can start to learn the rules of the system. When action A is taken, that tends to lead to consequences B, C, D, etc.

Understanding the rules of the system, we start to see that there are limitations within the system. If we decide to speed while driving our car, we are at risk for a ticket. If we eat nothing but cheeseburgers, we risk hurting our health.

But those negative consequences come when we are pushing against the rules of the system. If the system says the speed limit is 65, we have freedom to drive up to that speed limit. But we don’t have freedom to drive faster than it.

If the system says we have to eat relatively healthy to stay active and fit, we have the freedom to eat whatever we want as long as it is relatively healthy, and we don’t overdo the junk food.

In other words, in most systems there is a natural level of freedom to operate within the system. The system incorporates freedom but only up to a point. Cross that point and the negative consequences will apply.

In order to remain free, we have to learn the rules of the system and then design our own subsystems to keep us from those limits. We can be free but it requires self-discipline.

If we are self-disciplined enough when we are driving, we avoid getting tickets and paying fines for speeding. We avoid that external limitation. If we are self-disciplined with our eating, we avoid gaining too much weight and experiencing obesity-related health issues.

Self-discipline becomes the key to our freedom, yet most people see self-discipline as limiting. They see it as restricting. But the external restrictions will kick in for us if we don’t set limits ourselves.

The system will tell you what level to stay within. If you want to be free, learn how to stay within that level.

This article is bound to cause some people agitation. They see this and assume I am talking about repressive or political systems, the ones that are too limiting and do need to change.

That isn’t it. Even in repressive systems, when we know the rules and disagree with them, we can work to change the system. Man’s systems tend to be malleable. But the natural systems are more absolute.

If you want the weather to be pleasant all year, you have options. An option isn’t to wish and hope (or complain about the current weather). That is absolute. But you could move to an area with a pleasant, year-round climate. You could find ways to enjoy the pleasant days and use the unpleasant days to get your work done.

In other words, natural systems tend to be much more absolute. Learning to live within the system will mean more freedom than trying to push against it because you wish it were different.

If you want freedom in a repressive system, you can still follow the same principles but there may be a time when it is wiser to work to challenge and change the system. But this should be a strategic, coordinated effort. Not one employed after the consequences hit.

But too often people’s first reaction to any system setting rules or limitations is to try to break the system in order to be free. That is a horrible path in most instances. Continuing to speed because you wish there were no speed limits won’t result in freedom. Learning to live within the rules will.

Eating bacon cheeseburgers and donuts every day won’t change the systems around our body. Being free from health issues from our diet means we have to be self-disciplined to eat enough healthy food and not overeat junk food.

Instead of spending your whole life pushing against every system you feel, learn to understand the system and then learn how to be free within that system structure. You have options in life and can be happy and free but it isn’t as simple as hoping the world changes to better suit your desires.

For more information on the systems and habits approach to improvement and how to earn your freedom through systematic adjustment, check out Scott’s latest book, You Can’t Surf from the Shore.